What is the way to develop and practice continuously the method of full awareness of breathing,
So that the practice will be rewarding and offer great benefit?
It is like this friends,
The practitioner goes into the forest or to the foot of a tree or to any deserted place,
Sits with stability holding his or her body straight and practices like this.
Breathing in,
I know that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I know I am breathing out.
Bring your body to its meditation posture,
Whether seated or lying down.
Let your spine be straight,
Your breath and your energy free flowing.
Let your mind rest on your body as your body rests on your chair or on the floor.
And establish a sense of welcome seclusion in your mind.
Rest from the demands of life,
We don't need to bring them here.
And formulate an intention,
A motivation to practice here,
Now,
For your own growth and for how your growth can benefit others.
Bring attention through your spine,
Let the spine align itself.
Bottom to top,
Vertebrae by vertebrae.
Relaxing,
Aligning.
Uprightness of the body encourages uprightness of the mind.
Be here in the present moment,
Not in the past,
Not in the future.
Be here,
Now.
This is your life.
And dwelling in the present moment,
Bring mindfulness to the fore.
For a moment,
Be aware of the condition of your mind when mindfulness is present.
See the condition of your mind,
Allow it to be open,
Spacious,
Soft,
Alert and awake.
Give yourself this gift.
And with mindfulness in the fore,
Become aware of your breathing.
Inhalation,
Exhalation,
Just the breath.
In and out.
Follow your breath,
Noticing its length,
Its quality.
And after a time,
Bring awareness to your whole body.
Give prominence to the body in your mindful attention now,
Your breath to the background,
A peripheral awareness of your inhalations and exhalations.
Experience your whole body.
Let your body be calm.
Breathe and be calm in your body.
Letting go of tension.
Relaxing.
Aware of your entire body.
Let your body be tranquil.
Bottled.
You're breathing in its peripheral awareness.
Mindfulness of the body.
And out of this deep ease,
A simple feeling of joy can arise.
This is the fruition of our practice of the breath up to now.
Engaging our attention,
Aware of the body,
Calming the body.
A feeling of joy.
This feeling of joy can be subtle.
That's all right.
It manifests as it manifests.
Experience joy.
Or perhaps only a feeling of simple contentment.
All the while holding your breath in peripheral awareness.
Your inhalation.
Your exhalation.
All the while holding your breath in peripheral awareness.
All the while holding your breath in peripheral awareness.
Sooner or later the energy of joy will settle into happiness.
More quiet.
Even if you didn't experience joy before,
Happiness is still possible.
Contentment.
We have done our part.
We practice.
And we are content.
No yearning.
No desire.
Contentment.
Experiencing happiness.
Our body and mind suffused by it.
Be content.
You may find your mind beginning to wander.
Simply bring your attention back to the breath.
Allow yourself to come back to the comfort of the breath.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Settle into the breath.
And then let your mindfulness of the breath move back into peripheral awareness.
Find that feeling of joy.
Happiness.
Contentment.
And then let this too move to the background of peripheral awareness.
And be aware simply of your own mental activity.
Your perceptions,
Thoughts and feelings.
Be aware of these from a vantage point of observation.
Built on your peripheral awareness of the breath.
And the pleasant feeling of mindfulness in the present moment.
Discover that it's possible to meditate even when the thought is in the mind.
We just need to step back and watch our thoughts.
Just knowing there is thinking.
Knowing that we feel.
But not being carried away by it.
Not following it.
Not rejecting it.
Just watching our mental activity.
Not becoming actively involved with it.
This is our tool.
To notice when we are becoming part of the game of thought.
And to regain our position of observation.
From here we can handle the complexity of our mental activity.
We learn to watch thoughts and feelings without becoming part of them.
With kindness and non-involvement we can observe them.
And as we do our mental activity begins to quiet.
No need to force this,
Just let it run out.
Mental activity is becoming quiet,
Settled,
A natural calming.
.
.
.
.
.
Breathing in,
Know that you are breathing in.
Breathing out,
Know that you are breathing out.
Bring your awareness back to your breath.
Open your eyes and feel the present moment.
Bring a smile to your face.
Today can be beautiful.
